When the Ice Falls
by ellemartyr
Summary: Who comforts the lover's who will cannot meet?


Title: When The Ice Falls

Fandom: Batman

Rating: G

Summary: Who comforts the lovers who cannot meet?

Author's Note: Idea based off the ending on Batman Returns with the old Michelle Pfeiffer Catwoman. Just a little fluffy hurt/comfort.

The old one gave the younger one a final look before the yellow box went down the road. The man waved him off with a smile on his face, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. The box was past the gate before the smile faded and his hand dropped. It was a few moments of watching the road absently before he dropped his eyes and stepped back, closing the door on the cold. She was very glad he closed the door because the cold had no business being inside her home. Now that the air was warming up, she left the corner she had been watching him from and spoke to him, weaving her way around obstacles of his legs with a fluid grace to each step.

There was laughter in the man's voice when he said, "Just like her. Affectionate yet trying to kill me at the same time."

She didn't really understand the words that the man said and she really didn't care, but his voice was soft and it warmed her just like the fire in the wall did. She closed her eyes and smiled at him, speaking to him again. The man smiled back at her and picked her up. She didn't mind being held by him because he held her loosely in his arms and it was only long enough for her to climb to her accustomed perch on his shoulder. He scratched the underside of her chin as he walked down the hall to the fire in the wall. The fire burned cheerfully and cast haunting shadows on the walls. The tree in the corner glittered with tiny fires that blinked in and out but never burned the tree leaves. Ice fell outside of the clear wall, blanketing the land outside of it and once more she was just as glad that she was inside. She felt a content that filled her with her own warmth and she let it rumble out of her as she closed her eyes happily.

He made his way to the sofa, and sat down while she yawned. She stood, stretching herself out as she made her way down his chest before she draped herself over his legs. She turned her head just slightly so she could watch him from the corner of one eye as he smiled down on her. She watched him reach a gentle hand out and run his fingers over her inky fur and she closed her golden eyes. She loved it when he pet her. "Merry Christmas, Selina," he whispered.

It was only a breath, but she heard it just find and she did recognize that one sound. Selina. That was what he called her. It wasn't her name, but she let him call her that because it seemed to make him happy. She twitched her ears back at him to catch the sound of his voice since he was talking behind her. When he didn't say anything else, she contorted, digging a claw in to stabilize herself, and twisted around so that her head was upside down on his knee as she watched him curiously. The man smiled as she had intended, but it didn't take the sadness out of his dark eyes.

His eyes were always dark when the ice fell from the sky. Other times they were quiet and intense, but when the ice fell, they were sad. She wished he wouldn't be so sad when the ice fell. "So another year has passed," he said softly as he moved her claw. She hated it when he did that but she let it go when his eyes looked like that. Plus he ran a finger over her chin. "And I still don't really know if you're alive or not."

She twisted her head back. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. For a moment his whole expression was the same as his eyes and she spoke to him plaintively. She hated it when he was sad. He smiled but it was just as sad and she wanted to let out a yowl of sorrow. It hurt her so much to see him like it. It was why she didn't leave no matter how many opportunities her; because he needed her. "I miss you, too." His words were so soft that even she almost missed them.

Impulsively she walked her front paws up his chest and butted her head against his chin, tilting her ears back as she rubbed her cheek and brows against him. When she pulled back he was smiling, a real smile. It was still a little sad, but it didn't hold the sorrow all the previous ones had. She felt him lift and arm under her and so she braced her back paws on it while she gently dug her claws into his shirt, just enough to hold on to while she let him wrap the other arm around her. He squeezed her gently and she tolerated it because the man was so strong that when the ice fell it was almost as if he was broken, and she wanted him to continue to be strong. She knew she helped him be strong so when he tilted his head down she rubbed her cheek against his as he ran a hand down her back. "I really miss you, Selina."

The man was asleep now. She tilted her head and watched him for a moment as he shifted against the cushions. It was clear that he was deeply asleep and would remain so for a while and so she licked his fingers a few times before she jumped off his lap. He didn't move as she padded her way out of the room with the fire in the wall and headed toward the room where he normally slept. She nosed the door opened and spoke as she entered the room.

The woman turned and smiled as she waited outside in the falling ice. Typical. She landed lightly on the bed and waited expectantly for the woman to come inside, which she finally did after a few moments. "How is he?" she asked.

She spoke, tilting her head. The woman smiled, but it was the same smile the man had. "That good huh?" She spoke again as the woman sat next to her and ran a familiar hand over her back. "I miss him," she whispered. "I really miss him."

She watched the woman as water leaked from her blue eyes and she stood, walking her front paws up the woman's chest and she stood on her hind legs to lick at the salty drops. The woman wrapped her arms gently around her just as the man had done. "I really miss him, MK. I just wish…"

She spoke softly; rubbing her cheek against the woman's to let her comfort rumble out of her chest and into the woman. She loved them both, the man and the woman, and that both loved her. Because she knew that, she knew that they love one another and she knew that they wanted to be together. She just wished she knew how to help them. They did this every time the ice fell. They were in the same place, both in her home. Why couldn't they find one another? She had tried before to lead one to the other, but they would always run away so she stopped trying. Why were the man and woman so stubborn?

It was only a few moments before the woman let her go with a kiss on the top of her head. "Take care of Bruce, MK. Give him my love. I'll see you next year." The woman hugged her again once more before setting her on the soft floor. She spoke to the woman but she was out the clear door and back into the falling ice. She laid down just inside the door and watched the ice fall. There was nothing to do but to wait for the next time the ice fell and she would comfort them both again.


End file.
